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Coflein: Next Generation Heritage Platform
AI Summary
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales is preparing a future procurement to redevelop Coflein, the online catalogue and discovery service that underpins the National Monuments Record of Wales. The project aims beyond a cosmetic website refresh, seeking a modern, sustainable, and scalable platform that will continue to support the evolving digital heritage needs of researchers, professionals, educators and the wider public. Expected deliverables include a total renewal of the underlying platform architecture, a bilingual user experience in Welsh and English, enhanced search and discovery capabilities, improved integration between site records, archive catalogue records and digital assets, as well as enriched support for rich media such as images, video, 3D and geospatial content. The new system will also offer greater flexibility in content presentation and management, and it will be designed with forward‑looking provisions to accommodate future development and enhancement.
In preparing the necessary business case and detailed requirements, the Commission is actively engaging suppliers with expertise in digital heritage platforms, archive and collections management, public sector digital services, geospatial systems, bilingual digital services, accessibility‑led design, and large‑scale search and discovery solutions. Expressions of interest will guide the forthcoming procurement strategy, which will be announced once funding and governance approvals are secured and the tender documentation is published. All works must comply with WCAG 2.2 and support bilingual Welsh and English content.
Description
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW) is seeking to raise market awareness of a potential future procurement opportunity relating to the redevelopment of Coflein, the online catalogue of the National Monuments Record of Wales (NMRW).
Coflein provides public access to information on more than 120,000 archaeological sites, monuments, historic buildings and maritime sites across Wales, alongside archive catalogue records and a substantial collection of digital resources including photographs, drawings, reports, video and 3D content. The service supports researchers, heritage professionals, educators, students, decision-makers and the wider public in accessing information about the historic environment of Wales.
Subject to the successful securing of capital funding and the completion of business case development, RCAHMW is considering a significant redevelopment of the Coflein platform. The intention is to move beyond a simple website refresh and deliver a modern, sustainable and scalable platform capable of supporting future enhancement and growth.
At this stage, the anticipated project scope may include:
renewal of the underlying platform architecture;
a redesigned bilingual user experience in Welsh and English;
improved accessibility in line with WCAG 2.2 standards;
enhanced search and discovery capabilities;
improved integration between site records, archive catalogue records and digital assets;
support for rich media including images, video and 3D content;
enhanced geospatial and mapping functionality;
greater flexibility in the presentation and management of content; and
provision for future development and enhancement of the service.
RCAHMW is currently developing the detailed requirements and procurement strategy. A formal procurement opportunity is anticipated to be advertised following completion of this preparatory work.
This notice is intended to provide the market with early visibility of the proposed opportunity and to assist suppliers in forward planning. The Commission would particularly welcome expressions of interest from organisations with experience in areas such as:
digital heritage platforms;
archive and collections management;
public sector digital services;
geospatial systems and GIS integration;
bilingual digital services;
accessibility-led design; and
large-scale search and discovery platforms.
This notice does not constitute a call for competition, invitation to tender or commitment by RCAHMW to commence a procurement process. Any future procurement will be subject to funding approval, governance requirements and the publication of appropriate procurement documentation.
Estimated date of publication of contract notice: 2027-01-15T23:59:59Z
Contract location: UK
Engagement process description
Interested suppliers should provide:
organisation name;
contact details;
a brief summary of relevant experience;
confirmation that they would like to be informed when the procurement commences.
Lot: 1
Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted: En